Elon Musk had affair with wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin: report
By Ariel Zilber and
Bruce Golding
July 24, 2022 12:09pm Updated
Elon Musk had affair with wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin: report
Google co-founder Sergey Brin filed for divorce after learning that his wife cheated on him with Elon Musk — whose electric-car company Tesla was propped up by Brin during the 2008 financial crisis, according to a bombshell report Sunday.
The two tech titans were longtime friends — with Musk saying that for years he regularly crashed at Brin’s Silicon Valley home — until the Tesla founder’s brief fling with Nicole Shanahan last year, the Wall Street Journal said.
Brin and Shanahan were separated but still living together at the time of the affair in December, a person close to her told the Journal.
Brin, who’s worth $95 billion, filed for divorce in January, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
The filing came several weeks after Brin found out that Shanahan hooked up with the world’s richest man, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
Brin also ordered his financial advisers to liquidate his investments in Musk’s various companies amid growing tension between the billionaires, sources told the Journal.
In 2008, Brin provided Musk with a $500,000 lifeline for Tesla when it was struggling to increase production amid the Great Recession.
Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Inc., gestures as he speaks during a news conference prior to unveiling the Model X sport utility vehicle (SUV) during an event in Fremont, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. Musk handed over the first six Model X SUVs to owners in California Tuesday night, as Tesla reached a milestone of having two all-electric vehicles in production at the same time.
The two tech titans were longtime friends — with Musk saying that for years he regularly crashed at Brin’s Silicon Valley home.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Sergey Brin and Nicole Shanahan attend the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures: Opening Gala honoring Haile Gerima and Sophia Loren, and Museum Campaign Leadership Bob Iger, Annette Bening, and Tom Hanks; Gala Co-Chairs Jason Blum, Ava DuVernay, and Ryan Murphy on September 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.
Sergey Brin filed for divorce after learning that his wife cheated on him with Elon Musk.
Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Musk, now worth $253 billion, later rewarded Brin by giving him one of Tesla’s first all-electric SUVs.
Musk, a 51-year-old divorcee, has fathered 10 kids, the first of whom died of sudden infant death syndrome in 2002.
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Five of the other kids were also born to Musk’s ex-wife, Justine Wilson.
Musk also fathered three children with Canadian singer Grimes — one born by a surrogate — and earlier this month, he confirmed having twins with an executive at his brain-chip company Neuralink.
Those children were born just weeks before Grimes gave birth to the second of their kids.
The move came several weeks after he found out that Musk and Shanahan had hooked up.
The move came several weeks after he found out that Musk and Shanahan had hooked up.
Ian Tuttle/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize
Google co-founders Nicole Shanahan (left) and Sergey Brin (right) have allegedly split after it was revealed that Shanahan had an affair with Elon Musk.
Google co-founders Nicole Shanahan (left) and Sergey Brin (right) have allegedly split after it was revealed that Shanahan had an affair with Elon Musk.
Taylor Hill/Getty Images
“Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis,” Musk tweeted July 7.
“A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far.”
A lawyer for Brin declined to comment, the Journal said.
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Neither Musk nor a spokeswoman for Shanahan, who runs a foundation focused on reproductive justice, responded to requests for comment, the Journal said
